Visitor spending in Hawaii flat in November

Despite a 4% bump in total visitors and 3% increase in total visitor days for Hawaii in November, visitor spending was virtually flat when compared to November 2017, the Hawaii Tourism Authority reported.

A total of 781,990 visitors to the Aloha State spent $1.29 billion, a 0.3% drop from the same period a year prior.

While visitor spending from the U.S. West, U.S. East and Canadian markets remained strong, all increasing year over year, those gains were offset by a slight decrease in spending from Japanese visitors and a 27% drop in spending from "all other international markets." The figures largely reflect similar changes in the number of visitors from each of the regions. The average daily spend per visitor fell 3% year over year, to $193.

Oahu, Maui and Kauai all recorded increases in both visitor spending and visitor arrivals in November year over year, with Kauai leading the way in both categories with a 14% increase in spending and 6% increase in arrivals. The Island of Hawaii registered declines in both visitor spending of $154.4 million (-18%) and visitor arrivals of 123,032 (-10%).

The total number of air seats serving the Hawaiian islands on trans-Pacific flights was up 7% year over year. Through the first 11 months of 2018, visitor arrivals and spending in Hawaii were up 6% and 8% respectively compared to 2017.